Living Dead Boy
by DeusVenenare
Summary: Hiei sneered. Helplessness was not a feeling that he would entertain. [ONESHOT]


**Living Dead Boy**

Hiei awoke to an aching shoulder and a cold, unforgiving stone floor. A small sliver of light peered under a thick metal door, illuminating the room just enough to make it very clear where he was; a cell. This was no dungeon in Makai, he realized. The familiar smell of battle and blood did not hang in the air like it did in his homeland.

No... This place was clean. Too sterile to be alive.

He rustled his stiff joints and pressed himself off of the floor, wondering how long he had to have been out to earn such pains. His stomach was empty and his lips chapped from dehydration, an alien sensation for a demon that could normally go days without sustenance. Granted, he was still much weaker than his former self after the implantation of the Jagan, but nearly a week of unconsciousness must have passed to leave him in this sorry state.

His shoulders popped in protest as he lifted his hands to untie the bandanna covering his third eye, dim violet light glowing from his forehead as he attempted to peer beyond his confines. It was an exercise in futility, however, as swirling patterns of light appeared on the walls, barring his extra sight.

A white magic ward, the kind that the denizens of Reikai were fond of.

It all clicked into place. Hiei had been trying to slip through the barrier between worlds after the search for the twin he had never met turned up clues that she might be in Ningenkai. He had managed the trip once before, it should have been easy, but something had given chase and he had been hit with an energy blast that he never saw coming. Gray boots were the last image he recalled before a sharp blow to the head had sent him into a long, dreamless sleep.

Three sets of footsteps plodded in the hall beyond the door, prompting Hiei to reach for a katana that wasn't there. With no blade to protect him, he attempted to spark a flame in his hands, but his demonic energy refused to rouse. White swirls, like the ones on the walls, danced across the skin of his wrists. Beautiful shackles, but shackles nonetheless.

Hiei sneered. Helplessness was not a feeling that he would entertain.

Mechanical pops echoed through the cell as the door unlocked, three tall figures appearing as shadows against the blinding backlight of the hallway. With the ferocity of a cornered tiger, Hiei leapt at the nearest figure, aiming a punch at their head with every intent to kill. He was halted immediately by a crackling green cord of energy that shot out and ensnared him, pinning his arms to his body and suspending him mid-flight.

"You're such an angry one," the cheery voice at the other end of the cord purred. Hiei felt himself being pulled out into the light and glared hatefully at the blond woman that had trapped him. She pulled him close, nearly touching noses to taunt him as he struggled in her bonds. "You'll be perfect for the program."

The fire demon fought uselessly against the woman's energy as she began leading him down the corridor, the other two walking in formation behind them. After passing dozens of doors like the one Hiei had been locked behind, they came to a stark white room, containing nothing but a metal chair and an unsettling creature dressed in a bright red smock.

The lanky thing turned to greet them, stringy white hair hanging limply around a long, pale face that was painted in a grin. Where its eyes should have been there were empty sockets, deep, fleshy and sightless. It held up a long finger, pointing wordlessly at the chair, and the woman forced Hiei into the hard, icy seat.

"I've never done this to a Jaganshi before," the creature spoke, voice dripping with slow, deep excitement.

"Will it be a problem?" The blond asked sharply.

"No," the thing hissed, its hands beginning to glow a pallid yellow. "Not a problem... a _pleasure_."

Sticky hands curled over Hiei's temples, hot needles of pain driving deep into the demon's skull. He thrashed and cursed as he sensed thoughts that were not his own worming into his brain, thoughts that began to overshadow his own. His drive to find his sister was being eaten away by this disgusting, slithering _otherness_. This otherness craved only one thing.

Destruction.

* * *

[A/N] For those of you that haven't read the manga, there were implications in the later volumes that Enma had been manipulating relations between humans and demons by brainwashing demons to commit crimes in the human world. Ever since then, it has been my headcanon that Hiei was one of those poor souls, which would account for his massive personality shift from over-the-top-evil-laughter!Hiei to the gruff, but loveable, killer with an honor code. Of course, the real reason was that Hiei was only supposed to be a one time villain, but reader support inspired Togashi to bring him on full time... buuuuut that doesn't stop fans from speculating. ;) This loosely ties into the plot of my other (in progress) story "All of the Pieces" but is written to be a stand-alone piece. Thank you for reading, loves!


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